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There have been two constants for Justin Goltz during the first two starts of his CFL career.

Strong showings early, followed by wildly inaccurate finishes.

Growing pains are to be expected when a young quarterback takes over the top job and to his credit, Goltz has displayed the proper amount of disappointment while sprinkling in a little positive reinforcement for the process itself during his post-game assessments.

The latest loss came Monday night, as the Blue Bombers kept it close but ultimately fell 27-20 to the B.C. Lions to fall to 1-5 as they enter the bye week.

Goltz started 7-of-9 through the air but managed only six more completions in the contest, finishing 13-of-28 for 112 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception.

That included just 71 yards of net offence -- and 34 yards passing -- during the second half.

Several balls were underthrown and on a couple of occasions, the pivot and the receiver simply weren't on the same page.

However, the Blue Bombers did have two critical drops (one by Chris Matthews and another by Clarence Denmark during the second half) but only head coach Tim Burke brought that up.

Goltz chose to focus on the need to be sharper.

"I'm just disappointed in the stuff that I missed. We made some plays early and I thought we had a great first half, to be honest," said Goltz. "But we have to finish in the second half. We faced a veteran secondary that steps up their game when they need to. We weren't able to make enough plays against them.

"You take something from every time you step on the field. You have to take something from this loss and you have to build with it. It's disheartening, but at the same time we're on the cusp of doing good things. It's close and we're making progress every week, but progress didn't get us a win tonight and that's the only thing that matters."

Goltz received some attention on the sidelines during the fourth quarter but remained in the game and said afterward that his right calf cramped up -- it had nothing to do with the ankle injury he sustained a week earlier against the Calgary Stampeders.

Despite his accuracy issues, Goltz did run the ball seven times for 32 yards, including a five-yard touchdown run that saw him walk in untouched after an excellent fake that fooled the Lions' defence.

Speaking of the running game, Chad Simpson had a season-high 19 carries for 83 yards.

"Chad can be the heart of this offence and he did a great job for us," said Goltz. "We established the run and we were able to move the ball early. That coincided with us being very successful in the first half."

While excited with getting 20 touches (he also caught a pass for seven yards), Simpson was thoroughly disappointed in the fact he came up half a yard short when the Blue Bombers gambled on third-and-two in the fourth quarter.

"I shouldn't have made it close, you know what I mean," said Simpson.

The Blue Bombers return to the practice field next Monday and are back in action on Aug. 16 at Investors Group Field against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

There have been two constants for Justin Goltz during the first two starts of his CFL career.

Strong showings early, followed by wildly inaccurate finishes.

Growing pains are to be expected when a young quarterback takes over the top job and to his credit, Goltz has displayed the proper amount of disappointment while sprinkling in a little positive reinforcement for the process itself during his post-game assessments.

The latest loss came Monday night, as the Blue Bombers kept it close but ultimately fell 27-20 to the B.C. Lions to fall to 1-5 as they enter the bye week.

Goltz started 7-of-9 through the air but managed only six more completions in the contest, finishing 13-of-28 for 112 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception.

That included just 71 yards of net offence -- and 34 yards passing -- during the second half.